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Gerry Rodrigues is the guru of open-water swimming. As Head Coach of the prestigious Tower 26 swimming program based in Santa Monica, California, Rodrigues is the swimming technique expert behind top triathlon coaches like Matt Dixon (Purple Patch Fitness), Jim Vance, Rad Hallman (Head Coach, USC Triathlon), celebrity open-water swimmers, and many high-performing professional and age-group triathletes. Rodrigues grew up swimming off the Caribbean island of Trinidad, where he won many open-water ocean swimming races and earned an athletic scholarship to Pepperdine University. He won U.S. Masters Swimming national championships, set several U.S. and world masters swimming records, and has won over 100 open water swimming races. Rodrigues started coaching triathletes in the early 1980s, helped found the first triathlon club in Los Angeles and Team Malibu, and organized the Malibu Masters Swim Club. He cofounded the World Open Water Swimming Association and has managed and coached numerous swimming clubs and teams in Southern California and coached dozens of swimmers to top 10 national rankings, national championship wins, national and world records, and has coached Olympic gold medalists and world champions. Rodrigues was owner of SWIM Magazine and publisher of Swimming World and Swimming Technique magazines. He launched one of the world's earliest swimming websites, swiminfo.com in 1995. In 1992, Rodrigues was named U.S. Masters Swimming Coach of the Year. Emma-Kate Lidbury is a journalist and professional triathlete. She was coached by Gerry Rodrigues at Tower 26 during the peak of her racing career. She has won six Ironman 70.3 titles and has finished twice in the top 10 at the Ironman 70.3 World Championships. Originally from the UK, Emma-Kate began her journalism career in the British newspaper industry where she worked for several regional titles. She was assigned to cover the Blenheim Triathlon in 2005 and, after participating in the race, she was inspired to pause her journalism career to focus her attention on becoming a professional triathlete. She continued to work as a freelance writer in the endurance sports and triathlon space, writing for publications and websites around the world. She moved to the U.S. in 2013, landing in Santa Monica, California, where she joined Tower 26 and has since swum nearly 2,000 miles as part of the program. She now lives in Boulder, Colorado, with her husband Aaron and their mischievous puppy Indie.
Praise for Gerry Rodrigues and TOWER 26 ""Gerry Rodrigues is simply the best swimming coach I have met (let alone open water coach), and he was my swim coach when I raced. He has been tremendously helpful with all of my professional athletes who I have sent to see him for specific instruction and help. Any swimmer or triathlete in the LA area not utilizing his program is missing something very special.""--Matt Dixon, coach, co-founder of Purple Patch Fitness, and author of Fast-Track Triathlete ""Gerry has helped me excel as both an athlete and a coach over the past several years. He has the unique ability to spot flaws in a stroke on the individual level and correct them in an instant. His approach allows him to focus any athlete's attention on what it takes to get faster beyond fads or quick fixes. Every workout has left me with an improved understanding of swimming and what it takes to race well. From technique to race strategy, his coaching prowess will take any athlete, whether beginner or elite, swimmer or triathlete, to the next level.""--Rad Hallman, head coach at USC Triathlon Club ""Gerry is the consummate professional and more than willing to share his infinite swim wisdom and knowledge. He doesn't offer 'silver bullets, ' rather a defined framework of volume, mechanics, prescription, presence, and accountability to get the best return on investment.""--Roger Hastie, coach ""Gerry Rodrigues has to be the best and the most demanding coach. Gerry got me prepped for my first Ironman in Kona, and he took a 260-pound man and turned him into an Ironman. Tower 26 is definitely the best.""--Gordon Ramsay, chef, food critic, and triathlete ""I've been an online member of Tower 26 since 2017, and Gerry's influence not only on my swim progress but also on my overall triathlon career has been instrumental! Over the past 10 years of my professional triathlon career, I have had the pleasure of working with some of the top coaches in the sport, but after finding Gerry, I am certain he is the master of all things swimming in triathlon!""--Scott DeFilippis, professional triathlete and coach at KIS Coaching ""I've learned a lot from Gerry Rodrigues' methodology, and I have seen it work incredibly well! Swimming is complex in both biomechanics and training theory and application. With Tower 26, you can focus on getting the biomechanics right, because the training is very well-thought-out and planned.""--Jim Vance, coach, author, and technology consultant ""In just a few months of training with Gerry at Tower 26, I was not only a better swimmer, but a better all-around triathlete. After my first full season, I took my performance to the next level, winning some big races and turning professional. Gerry's overall method and workouts are structured in a way that is smart, specific, and progressive.""--Jim Lubinski, pro triathlete and head coach at Tower 26 ""The Tower 26 season not only gets athletes racing fast, but builds them into a healthy, efficiently functioning athlete.""--Jim Lubinski, pro triathlete and head coach at Tower 26
